U.S. Air Force planes, including multiple B-52s, F-15s and A-10s carried out a series of strikes targeting a large ISIS gathering in central Syria in the early morning of Sunday, Dec. 8.
U.S. Central Command announced that the bombers and fighter jets targeted more than 75 targets in the Syrian desert, going after known ISIS fighters and camps. It’s unclear how many ISIS members or leaders were killed in the attacks but a senior U.S. administration official, speaking on background to reporters, called the strike “significant” given the size of the area targeted and the number of ISIS members gathered there.
The strikes were carried out the same day that the Syrian capital of Damascus fell to rebel forces. The capture marked the end of the Assad regime, and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled the country to Moscow, according to Russian state media. The Syrian prime minister has agreed to hand over power to opposition forces. The strikes on ISIS targets was not directly related to the fall of Assad, but CENTCOM said in a statement that it is not looking to let the terrorist group — which once controlled large swaths of Syria and Iraq — to take advantage of the upheaval.
“All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way,” CENTCOM commander Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla said in a statement.
American forces dropped roughly 140 munitions on the targets, the senior administration official said.
The United States has approximately 900 troops inside Syria, working with partner forces including the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces as part of its ongoing fight against ISIS. Although the group no longer controls major cities or towns, it remains active in areas that were largely outside of SDF or pro-Assad control.
The strikes on Sunday were the latest in a series of high-profile operations against ISIS gatherings and camps in the back half of 2024. Starting in August, U.S. forces have raided or bombed multiple ISIS camps, capturing leaders and killing dozens of fighters. At the end of October, American airstrikes killed as many as 35 ISIS fighters in the Syrian desert in an attack targeting known leaders. Similar major operations in western Iraq in that time period took out the group’s upper leadership inside that country.
The latest on Task & Purpose
- Marine Corps commandant completes combat fitness test 11 months after open heart surgery
- How generals and admirals get promoted now and how that may change under Trump
- 101st Airborne soldier ‘ain’t come to play’ in cage match video
- Army puts up $15,000 reward to help find 31 pistols and optics stolen from Fort Moore
- ‘Andor’ shows even the Empire has the Pentagon’s acquisition model